Dual-Cleaner Camera Drum for Coupled Cable and Hose Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe inspection and cleaning systems face challenges in efficiently deploying and retracting cables and hoses of different dimensions, flexibilities, and external surfaces, making it cumbersome and difficult to manage them within pipes or cavities.
Innovation Solution
A cable handling device with integrated clips, clamps, and pipe guides, along with remotely controlled clamps and a motorized feeder, is used to manage, steer, and protect cables and hoses, allowing for simultaneous deployment and retraction of multiple cables and hoses, including cameras and cutting mechanisms, within pipes or cavities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual handling of cables and hoses is used for deployment and retraction, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cable handling functions (deployment, retraction, cleaning, and management) into a single integrated device. The cable handling device includes a drum for deploying and retracting cables, cleaning elements for maintaining cable surfaces, and management mechanisms for organizing multiple cables and hoses together, eliminating the need for separate manual handling operations
Solution Approach 2:
The cable handling device is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it deploys and retract s cables and hoses, cleans their external surfaces, and manages their positioning. This multi-functional approach improves ease of operation without requiring proportionally higher device complexity, as all functions are integrated into one system
2Productivity
If multiple cables and hoses are handled simultaneously, then productivity improves, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in keeping them together
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges multiple cables and hoses into a single integrated bundle that is deployed and retracted together as one unit. The drum mechanism and cable management system treat the collection of cables and hoses as a unified assembly, allowing simultaneous handling of multiple lines without the operator needing to manage each individually
Solution Approach 2:
The cable handling device universally manages different types of cables and hoses (camera cables, water supply hoses, electrical cables) through a single system that adapts to handle various dimensions, flexibilities, and external surfaces, maintaining ease of operation while improving productivity
3Reliability
If cables and hoses are deployed without protection, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to potential damage to camera equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates cleaning elements that continuously clean the external surfaces of cables and hoses before they encounter potential contaminants or damage sources within the pipe. This preventive approach protects the camera equipment and cables from damage or degradation that could compromise reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cleaning function is merged into the cable handling device itself, so that protection is provided as an integrated feature rather than a separate system. The cleaning elements are positioned within the device to automatically maintain cable and hose surfaces during deployment and retraction operations
Data Source
AI summary
Cable handling devices, methods and systems are provided for securing and deploying, or retracting, one or more cables or hoses into or out of a pipe or cavity allowing inspection of the pipe or cavity. The cables and/or hoses may be coupled and moved together, or decoupled enabling them to be moved independently. A hand-held device with a housing for at least partially enclosing one or more cables or hoses, at least one coupling mechanism integrally attached to the housing, and a coupling control for coupling and decoupling the one or more cables or hoses may be provided. One or more of the cables may be connected to a camera disposed at the distal end of a cable thereby facilitating inspection of the pipe or cavity. Tools such as cutting devices or a jetter may be provided at the end of the one or more cables and/or hoses.